The cross cultural connections base is located in the Damen Den and is new to Loyola this year
Loyola’s administration designated a new space for students of minority groups in the Damen Student Center this school year, called the Cross Cultural Connections Space.
Located in the Den, the space aims to build bridges for students and help them to celebrate each other, according to Astrid Beltran, Loyola’s assistant vice president of diversity and student engagement.
While the Den has always been available for student use, it is now being specially dedicated to the new program.
The room received the name of the Cross Cultural Connection Space in response to student concerns about connectivity between minority groups on campus, according to Beltran.
“We heard students wanting a physical space to come together as a community,” Beltran said. “We then tried to create a space where folks can come together and build communities, a sense of belonging and connectedness.”
Unlike other resources on campus, the Cross Cultural Connections Space isn’t a group or organization but a space open to anyone who wants to feel a sense of belonging.
Second-year Jenna Horak said she saw a lot of use in the creation of the space, especially for students who are far from home.
“One of my friends, she’s an international student, and I would love to talk to her about her culture, but I don’t have that perspective,” Horak said. “She could find more people like her there.”
There are no officers or board members from the student or administrative bodies who are directly in charge of the space, allowing it to remain open to everyone as a resource, according to Beltran.
Beltran said the idea for the space came about at the start of the summer, and while the Division of Student Development was responsible for bringing it to life, students were responsible for bringing the idea into the picture initially.
“It came from the students who asked for it,” Beltran said. “Just different identities that brought it forth and then some identities that are growing within our student body that we also wanted to highlight.”
Although the Cross Cultural Connection Space is open to all students of Loyola, there is a larger focus on identities such as Latinx/e, Asian Pacific Islander Desi America, Black, LGBTQIA+, multiracial, international, disabled persons and first-generation college students, according to the Loyola website.
Beltran said she sees student involvement in the space growing in the future, depending on student needs each year.
“Maybe one day when it gets more active, there might be official student leaders,” Beltran said. “But we didn’t want responsibility or things like that on a certain student.”
Loyola spokesperson Matt McDermott said a big part of what the administration is trying to do right now with the space is just inform students of its existence. He said he believes spreading awareness is the only way to ensure the space’s success for years to come.
Alina Ansari, a first-year student, said she had never heard of the Cross Cultural Connections Space, but she could see herself getting use out of it.
Ansari said she thought the use of social media would allow the university to get information out to the student body more effectively. She suggested making an Instagram account for the space.
“Hopefully that will at least get their name out there and at least people will know of it,” Ansari said. “If they want to learn more, then they can always look into that themselves.”
Aniko Kittridge, a second-year student, said she wasn’t aware of the space but thought it would be a good idea for the university to put a sign or a plaque outside of The Den letting students know of its existence.
Beltran said at the end of the day, the goal of the space is simply to ensure students have a place to feel like they belong.
“We hope to establish it in a way that it works for Loyola,” Beltran said. “We hope it is a space for students to have Loyola really become their home even more.”
The Den will be open Tuesday through Thursday from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m., according to the university website. Students are encouraged to stop by and form connections with others during this time.
This story was written by Lilli Malone and Elizabeth Maxwell
Featured image by Holden Green | The Phoenix
